TOWSON, MD-The Maryland Board of Public Works approved a controversial loan to a Greene Turtle franchise here on Wednesday, despite objections raised by State Comptroller Peter Franchot.
Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp joined Gov. Martin O'Malley in voting in favor of the $240,000 loan. The financing had been delayed a month due to concerns Kopp had raised about the loan. At the Public Works session, Franchot argued that Towson is not the type of blighted community that should benefit from the Neighborhood Business Works program. Earlier, he characterized the Greene Turtle as a "sports bar in a college town." He said the establishment should have been able to finance its expansion without a government loan, according to the Baltimore Sun.
Raymond A. Skinner, Maryland's secretary of housing and community development, said the Greene Turtle loan met all of the criteria for eligibility under the program.
The loan will help finance the $893,000 expansion of the restaurant, a locally owned franchise of the popular Greene Turtle chain. Baltimore County is also providing a loan for the project that will also include bank financing and an investment by the ownership. See story in the Baltimore Sun.
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